I was reading through my normal blogs yesterday when something caught my eye…”52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks”. So I headed over to Amy Johnson Crow’s site at http://www.nostorytoosmall.com/posts/challenge-52-ancestors-in-52-weeks/ to read more about her challenge for 2014. One blog post for a specific ancestor each week… I should be able to swing once a week even with the upcoming move.

Since my Pop was always my favorite, it seems fitting that he should be my number 1 post. My grandfather, George Rudolph Nahodil, was an amazing man. He was a family man. He was a hard working man. He was a caring man. He was a funny man.

Rudy, as George was known by his entire life, had a great sense of humor. I imagine it must have started as a young boy as he listed his occupation as an “Actor” on his World War II enlistment record in 1942 when he was just 19 years of age (or so he claimed); Rudy’s actual occupation was as a laborer in the anthracite coal mines of central Pennsylvania.

George Rudolph Nahodil – a sampling of the ears

The Nahodil family was blessed with big, beautiful (uh, did I really just say that?) ears. The ears of the earlier generations were so distinctive that you could pick a Nahodil our in a crowd without even knowing him. While my actor grandfather was overseas in the military, he must have spent his downtime perfecting his signature move known as the ear wiggle. He loved to perform this move for us kids, especially when other adults were around but not looking…we broke out in giggle fits every time. We all wanted to learn this skill and spent a great deal of time practicing but nobody has ever done it as well as Rudy; I’ll turn 40 next week and still catch myself “practicing”.

Rudy was the consummate joker and all people and places were fair game. Dragging his leg behind him as a zombie might was not uncommon while out shopping with the kids and other adults. This was hysterical when I was a child but I now I cannot help but think of how mortified his wife must have been…still makes me chuckle.